Do you think this will improve staffing?

gonzo1, ASN, RN · Oct 31, 2007

It's always good to have a dream. I ain't holding my breath.

phoenix72 · Oct 31, 2007

I don't work in a hospital yet, but I did work in Human Resources for a major corporation (working primarily in Staffing for a number of years)and I think it may actually make things worse. I forsee administration coming down harder on the nurses and expecting them to do more than they already do. It takes a forward thinking company to see that positive reinforcment and adequate staffing actually help a company's bottom line. Most see them as additional expenses. I hate to say it, but it's true. We can always dream, though.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Oct 31, 2007

Improve staffing? No.

Plenty of evidence already exists to show that better staffing ratios results in better patient care and outcomes. Still doesn't change the current understaffing, does it?

I've also been told that nosocomial infections will result in Medicaid not paying a dime for a patient's hospital stay. Lovely. Would like to see how they can even prove that some of the crappy conditions our patients develop over time (especially in our frequent fliers, of which we have LOTS) is OUR fault. Too many patients show up with poor hygiene, poor nutrition histories, and the disease of the month.

Should be sure to keep us on that pay raise path in 2008.

bill4745, RN · Oct 31, 2007

am I asking too much to think that ANYONE in administration has COMMON SENSE

You were obviously absent from nursing school the day this lecture was given!

NursingAgainstdaOdds · Oct 31, 2007

Like every other problem my institution faces, I expect they will lay the burden firmly and squarely on the shoulders of the nursing staff.

BBFRN, BSN, PhD · Oct 31, 2007

Sad to say, they probably won't increase staffing. What they will probably do (and what some facilities are already starting to do), is start testing patients for MRSA by nasal swab when they are admitted. If the pt is found positive for MRSA upon admission, the cost of treating it will fall on their shoulders. The hospitals can then say it wasn't incurred during that hospital stay.

Grace Oz · Oct 31, 2007

The number crunchers will ALWAYS find a way! *sigh*

SICU Queen · Oct 31, 2007

Sad to say, they probably won't increase staffing. What they will probably do (and what some facilities are already starting to do), is start testing patients for MRSA by nasal swab when they are admitted. If the pt is found positive for MRSA upon admission, the cost of treating it will fall on their shoulders. The hospitals can then say it wasn't incurred during that hospital stay.

We are doing this - we swab every single patient that is admitted to our ICU.

bigsyis · Oct 31, 2007

Common sense? Hospital administration?

I think that they are mutually exclusive! I have never seen common sense prevail in a hospital. I have seen one Manager with a LOT of common sense try to use it, and they attempted to squash her like a bug. She is still holding on, though!

ShayRN · Oct 31, 2007

Glad to see you all saw the humor in my post, as it was intended to be tongue in cheek. We can laugh about the lack of sound managment, but in the long run it is and always will be our patients who suffer the consequences. I would love if the bean counters who think 13-15 patients on a med-surg floor is safe to come and work one shift with a nurse.

RN 4 U · Oct 31, 2007

Yeah, someone told me that the other day as well, and that is why more patients are having their foleys removed earlier, but it is so much more than a foley that could potential cause an infection and it is about staffing, i was just thinking about that last night when i was working too short, no aid, 2 nurses wilth needy patients all night. nursing is a hard job and unfortunately there are not that many people willing to do that kind of work. It is the pt that suffers unfortunately.